Watch This Vlogger's Viral Transition Video and Get Ready to Happy-Cry

One of the best things about the Internet is its power to give people who might otherwise go unheard a platform to reach out and inspire others. It's exciting and often deeply moving to see the stories of the men and women who speak out about their experiences, so when we heard that YouTube vlogger Maya (also known online as Transmermaid) had posted a video timeline of her own life, detailing her 20-year transformation from Markus to Maya, we had to check it out.

Maya, who vlogs about everything from trans life and dating to fashion and beauty (seriously, her hair game is on point), originally posted the video last October, where it has since garnered nearly 2.5 million views. Full of photos of her, the video traces her life growing up as Markus, wearing what she describes as "'girls' clothing," having to cut her hair short in high school to play male roles in theater, and hoping to leave behind her masculine identity after graduation. We're not saying you have a heart of stone if you can look at the dress she fantasized about wearing to prom but couldn't ("I wasn't ready yet; I was too afraid," she writes) without getting choked up, but you might want to make a doctor's appointment just to check.

The video follows her through her first years of college, her struggles with body dysphoria, attending her first trans pride march, and ultimately coming out in early 2015 and beginning hormone replacement therapy. The change you can see in her—far beyond the physical—is astounding; her joy in being able to show the world who she's really been on the inside radiates from each image.

Sadly, life's still not as easy for trans individuals as it is for cis people—the fact that a lovely young woman spent nearly 20 years simply finding a way to be who she is speaks to how far we still have to go. Thanks to the tireless work of trans advocates and the visibility of incredible people like Laverne Cox, Geena Rocero, and Caitlyn Jenner, though, the world is slowly but steadily improving on how we regard the trans community. Hopefully beautiful stories like Maya's will also make it easier for those out there still experiencing turmoil to find the right path for them—it certainly inspired us to want to go out and conquer the world.

Jordana Brewster, Laverne Cox, and Other Celebrities Get Naked for Allure: